Light emitting diodes (LED's) are electrically powered semiconductor light sources. An LED chip can be made from silicon or other semiconductor material doped with impurities to create a p-n junction. Electrical current passing across the junction allows electrons to recombine with electron holes within the doped material, thereby releasing photons.
An LED chip can be mounted in a package to support and protect the LED chip, provide an electrical connection, and help dissipate heat generated by the LED chip. LED package designs can have several constraining factors. One factor is cost, which must be kept low because of the high volume of LED's manufactured. Costs are influenced by manufacturability and materials, among other things. Another factor is heat management. Specifically, the packaging of an LED chip must dissipate enough thermal energy, generated by the LED chip during light production and transmission, to avoid overheating and damaging the LED chip. Higher power LED chips are increasing in use, which further underscores the need for high thermal performance LED chip packaging. Various embodiments of the present disclosure concern LED chip packages for efficient manufacturing and/or high performance thermal dissipation.